Two acclaimed Saratoga Springs High School track coaches were banned by USA Track & Field, which cited alleged physical and emotional misconduct.

Over the many years that Art and Linda Kranick coached Saratoga Springs school running programs, students and teams won plenty of championships. And over those many years, the Kranicks engaged in methods that USA Track & Field now says amounted to physical and emotional misconduct.

That both those statements are true underscores not just the complexity of the Kranicks’ legacy, but the sometimes excessive level of tolerance granted by school leaders and even parents when it comes to the desire to see young people excel in sports.

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Whether it’s excessively grueling training under coaches like the Kranicks or the potential for long-lasting brain injury from contact sports like football, it’s hard for trusting students to know where the line is between tough but responsible guidance and abusive or reckless methods. It falls to the adults — parents, athletic directors, superintendents, school boards and state education officials — to know the difference.

In the case of the Kranicks, too many grownups failed — and that includes USA Track & Field, whose decision two weeks........

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